Moto GP Qatar Round 1

[Rod Richardson]

Can't predict much from FP 1 results but I wonder how many of the 17 riders are going to end up suffering from
The Bens.

Can't wait for the first Moto 2 race. Looks like a bleary eyed Monday for all of us this far to the east of Qatar.

[Corny]

Great news for us Dutch people before the day before the Qatar GP, MotoGP will not be broadcasted at all:S

[Wim_Impreza]

I hope you have BBC, Corny. Here I can watch BBC or VT4, but both are not live and are very late. :(

[ozrevhead]

so have been looking foward to it for ages :D :up:

from Crash.net

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 55.500sec
2. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 1min 56.026sec
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1min 56.028sec
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1min 56.698sec
5. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 56.793sec
6. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1min 56.818sec
7. Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 56.998sec
8. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1min 57.031sec
9. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 1min 57.059sec
10. Hector Barbera SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1min 57.105sec
11. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1min 57.133sec
12. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1min 57.167sec
13. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 57.363sec
14. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1min 57.535sec
15. Aleix Espargaro SPA Pramac Racing 1min 57.605sec
16. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1min 58.035sec
17. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1min 58.082sec

Casey looking great for the start of 2010 :up:

[Corny]

I hope you have BBC, Corny. Here I can watch BBC or VT4, but both are not live and are very late. :(
I'm lucky to have DSF, long live the Germans ;)

[MotorSportAutographs.com]

Cannot wait for it all to get going thats all the big motorsport categories of and running, summer is officially here.

Qualifying from Crash.net

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 55.007s
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 55.362s
3. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 55.52s
4. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 55.831s
5. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 55.899s
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 55.963s
7. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1m 55.99s
8. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 56.005s
9. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 56.163s
10. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1m 56.227s
11. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 56.271s
12. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 1m 56.283s
13. Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 56.45s
14. Aleix Espargaro SPA Pramac Racing 1m 56.652s
15. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 56.957s
16. Hector Barbera SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1m 57.13s
17. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 57.325s

Looking good for DePuniet and Aoyama

[Rod Richardson]

Moto 2 Qualifying
1 24 Toni ELIAS MORIWAKI 2'01.904
2 60 Julian SIMON RSV 2'02.032 0.128 0.128
3 65 Stefan BRADL SUTER 2'02.038 0.134 0.006
4 15 Alex DE ANGELIS FORCE GP210 2'02.101 0.197 0.063
5 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI TECH 3 2'02.295 0.391 0.194
6 16 Jules CLUZEL SUTER 2'02.366 0.462 0.071
7 35 Raffaele DE ROSA TECH 3 2'02.560 0.656 0.194
8 6 Alex DEBON FTR 2'02.759 0.855 0.199
9 48 Shoya TOMIZAWA SUTER 2'02.771 0.867 0.012
10 25 Alex BALDOLINI I.C.P. 2'02.866 0.962 0.095
11 40 Sergio GADEA PONS KALEX 2'02.881 0.977 0.015
12 44 Roberto ROLFO SUTER 2'02.883 0.979 0.002
13 63 Mike DI MEGLIO RSV 2'02.896 0.992 0.013
14 2 Gabor TALMACSI SPEED UP 2'02.916 1.012 0.020
15 59 Niccolo CANEPA FORCE GP210 2'03.002 1.098 0.086
16 12 Thomas LUTHI MORIWAKI 2'03.041 1.137 0.039
17 45 Scott REDDING SUTER 2'03.129 1.225 0.088
18 75 Mattia PASINI MOTOBI 2'03.155 1.251 0.026
19 14 Ratthapark WILAIROT BIMOTA 2'03.192 1.288 0.037
20 77 Dominique AEGERTER SUTER 2'03.232 1.328 0.040
21 29 Andrea IANNONE SPEED UP 2'03.258 1.354 0.026
22 41 Arne TODE SUTER 2'03.341 1.437 0.083
23 17 Karel ABRAHAM RSV 2'03.346 1.442 0.005
24 10 Fonsi NIETO MORIWAKI 2'03.390 1.486 0.044
25 52 Lukas PESEK MORIWAKI 2'03.531 1.627 0.141
26 3 Simone CORSI MOTOBI 2'03.588 1.684 0.057
27 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ BQR-MOTO2 2'03.635 1.731 0.047
28 71 Claudio CORTI SUTER 2'03.725 1.821 0.090
29 53 Valentin DEBISE ADV 2'03.752 1.848 0.027
30 9 Kenny NOYES PROMOHARRIS 2'03.792 1.888 0.040
31 80 Axel PONS PONS KALEX 2'04.301 2.397 0.509
32 55 Hector FAUBEL SUTER 2'04.417 2.513 0.116
33 61 Vladimir IVANOV MORIWAKI 2'04.470 2.566 0.053
34 5 Joan OLIVE PROMOHARRIS 2'04.476 2.572 0.006
35 21 Vladimir LEONOV SUTER 2'04.579 2.675 0.103
36 39 Robertino PIETRI SUTER 2'04.629 2.725 0.050
37 95 Mashel AL NAIMI BQR-MOTO2 2'04.871 2.967 0.242
38 96 Anthony DELHALLE BQR-MOTO2 2'04.912 3.008 0.041
39 8 Anthony WEST HONDA 2'05.362 3.458 0.450 ..............OOPS!
40 88 Yannick GUERRA MORIWAKI 2'05.460 3.556 0.098
41 76 Bernat MARTINEZ BIMOTA 2'06.310 4.406 0.850

[CaptainRaiden]

Stoner always goes great guns at Qatar, and then deflates as the season goes on. The Ducati is pretty strong at Qatar.

And Anthony West, 39th out of 41 riders? What the hell? The new Qatari rider, given that it's his home track, still qualified better. Was there a problem, or is the bike really that bad?

[NinjaMaster]

Stoner always goes great guns at Qatar, and then deflates as the season goes on. The Ducati is pretty strong at Qatar.

And Anthony West, 39th out of 41 riders? What the hell? The new Qatari rider, given that it's his home track, still qualified better. Was there a problem, or is the bike really that bad?

Not sure that I agree about Stoner but I guess time will tell. Seems Rossi is going to have to replicate his Laguna Seca tactics to run with Stoner at this round. They are a clear top 2.

Dunno what the deal is with West. He actually managed to get slower by a tenth across the weekend whilst the rest got quicker by over a second. Very strange.

I can't wait for it to all fire up, have been hangning for it for ages. MotoGP will be a titanic battle between Stoner and Rossi with Lorenzo also likely and Pedrosa a maybe if Honda get their act together. After that it's quite unpredictable. But not as unpredictable as Moto2! That series is going to be amazing!

[NinjaMaster]

I missed 125 but Moto2 was an interesting and enjoyable race. Not 1 giant battle but lots of little battles. Great to see a new winner and the return of some old faces (Roby, I'm looking at you!). Disappointing start for De Angelis and particularly Bradl.

[Allyc85]

Nearly time for the race, cant wait :D

[NinjaMaster]

I can't believe it but I felt uneasy from the moment the flag dropped. Gutted.

[pettersolberg29]

Great start for Dovi - hope he can keep it up and challenge for wins all year. Amazing the difference in straight line speeds. The Honda was 'owning' the Ducatis and Yamahas.

[jonny hurlock]

vale run out of petrol in the end, nice whelle from dovizioso at the end, gutted for stoner and hayden should have a podium imo, impress with spies

very impress with moto2 great race

[Corny]

Moto2 was great indeed! Great great list, and lots of action on the track.. Also more nationalities than Spain and Italy, I like it!

Stoner you really disappoint me :( Just couldn't believe it, this was going to be his day on his track.. This was not necessary at all, like so many other times. This might be the only reason why he has not won more titles, he's already looking at a 25 point gap between him and continuous highly scoring Valentino Rossi..

Good race.. Poor old Nicky, wanted him so much to get the second place, or at least a podium then! Hope he'll get many other podium chances, and that he's definitly back at the top.. That Honda is irritating fast on the straights :D Haha

Finally, GP season has begun! :) Had a great evening of watching motorcycle racing

[NinjaMaster]

Moto2 was great indeed! Great great list, and lots of action on the track.. Also more nationalities than Spain and Italy, I like it!

Stoner you really disappoint me :( Just couldn't believe it, this was going to be his day on his track.. This was not necessary at all, like so many other times. This might be the only reason why he has not won more titles, he's already looking at a 25 point gap between him and continuous highly scoring Valentino Rossi..

Good race.. Poor old Nicky, wanted him so much to get the second place, or at least a podium then! Hope he'll get many other podium chances, and that he's definitly back at the top.. That Honda is irritating fast on the straights :D Haha

Finally, GP season has begun! :) Had a great evening of watching motorcycle racing

Ditto, Corny. Despite my paranoia at seeing visions of Stoner throw it away (their lean angles always make me nervous) I am still dumbfounded that it actually happened. It wasn't like he was under pressure either, it was just a mistake.

Stoked for Nicky and Dovi. If they can be that close to the pointy end often during the season then it only makes it a better spectacle for us. Spies was unsurprisingly impressive and if Dani can get his Honda working for him then this championship could be every bit as exciting as WSB in my opinion.

[ShiftingGears]

Casey dropped the soap. Well done to the Yamaha guys, it certainly didn't look like a 1-2 was on the cards in the early stages.

[tha_jackal]

Westy was 10th in the morning warmup before the race, posting well and truly his fastest laptimes of the weekend (all to late by then mind you)

Whilst trying to make his way through the field during the race, he inevitably crashed..

It is believed a cracked exhaust was to blame for his abysmal pace during friday and saturday practices. fairly amateurish mistake, but they are a low-budget team..

Hope it's onwards and upwards from here..

[billiaml]

Looks like Rossi's picking up where he left off. I'm glad Hayden did well -- especially after the year he had in '09. Also happy to see Spies do well. Been a fan of his since I watched him in his AMA days :D

[The Phantom]

I was told that Stoner had already lost the front a few times, so had backed off a little, and it was that backing off that cost him the race - the bike apparently holds on much better when being pushed. Telemetry confirmed that he'd eased off before he binned it.

As for the 25 point deficit to Rossi, no big deal, Rossi always DNFs once due to stuffing up somehow.

Good work from Dovi, Hayden and Spies!!!

[Rod Richardson]

Highlights of all three races (Spanish or Swaheli)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoeTTJqkK7o

bon appetito.......

[Rod Richardson]

Sorry about that guys, Dorna pulled the pin on the footage being shown 5 mins after my post. Was great viewing while it lasted but it's a tall ask for riders to be expected to race at their peak that late at night.

[CaptainRaiden]

I think it's gonna be way too difficult for anybody else to stop Rossi now. Qatar was the one place where Yamaha struggled, and now because of Stoner binning it, they've gotten a 1-2. The M1 is just too good on the slower, more technical tracks. Even in the twisty bits at Qatar, Rossi was creating quite a few meters of gap between him and Dovi, until the Honda closed the gap on the straights with that gobsmacking alien horsepower. :eek:

The Moto2 race was very entertaining, and always good to see a first time winner. Once Elias' injuries heal and with De Angelis back, this should be an interesting season.

[Corny]

I think it's gonna be way too difficult for anybody else to stop Rossi now.
Nah, don't think so. Normally, Rossi can only get to his maximum level when he's annoyed. Like last year with Lorenzo, 2008 with Stoner.. And I don't need to mention Gibernau and Biaggi I think?

Stoner just has to stay on his bike, we all know he's probably the only one that is able to give him a hard time

[Roby44]

Roby's BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

And how good is Dovi going to be this year...Don't worry about Stoner..It'll be Dovi giving them all grief!!


As for Ant.. He'll work it out I'm sure...

I had a great race weekend.. Although it was a late night Sunday with Supers etc.. Good one Max Biaggi!! and then an early start to Monday I was happy. Aussie Supers in Darwin were good too.

[CaptainRaiden]

Nah, don't think so. Normally, Rossi can only get to his maximum level when he's annoyed. Like last year with Lorenzo, 2008 with Stoner.. And I don't need to mention Gibernau and Biaggi I think?

Stoner just has to stay on his bike, we all know he's probably the only one that is able to give him a hard time

I think Stoner and Lorenzo have done enough in the last 2 years to annoy Rossi to race at his highest level. :p

Anyway, why I say it will be very difficult for anybody to stop Rossi is just comparing the last 2 years, where Stoner won the Qatar GP, but Rossi pulled through later with his consistency, skill and the M1's advantage on slower more technical circuits. And this was when he wasn't even fastest in pre-season testing.

This year, he has been the fastest in almost all of the pre-season tests and has won the first GP with the full 25 points, which was traditionally won by Stoner and Ducati. Apart from a slight horsepower advantage, both Ducati and Honda do not compare with Yamaha's handling. Just look at how Lorenzo made short work of both Hayden and Dovi in the twisty parts of the circuit, and blocked them on the straights.

The M1 is just an overall better bike, and as we all know. Rossi + a good M1 = 10th world title.

[The Phantom]

Certainly what you're saying makes a lot of sense - however (and I know it's stupid saying 'what if', but that relates more to championships already run and won, rather than predictions of the future) if Stoner had not had three races off in 2009, Rossi may not have taken the title. I think we can safely assume that Stoner will not take three races off in 2010.

The battle will be fierce, but it is by no means done and dusted after one race.

I'm in two minds about 2010 (and beyond!) - I want to see Stoner take another title or two, if nothing else he deserves it for making the racing interesting... imagine the series without him. BUT I also want to see Rossi beat Ago's total wins count, and he can't do that if he's losing races to Stoner.